Hi everyone I need some advice. I am 11 months post Ivor Lewis and suffer with dumping syndrome straight after I eat. I have kept a food diary but there doesn't seem to be any pattern as to when it happens. I have read on here that taking a dextros will ease symptoms is this true? I am wondering as I've also read that eating too much sugar can cause dumping so how does dextros or eating more sugar help? Thank you all.

Hi there. Yes, avoid foods with too much refined sugar in them, as well as taking care with very high carbohydrate foods like potatoes. If you do want something sweet, make sure it is after a normal meal to slow it down. Personally, I found my limit was around 5mg on an empty stomach. Three years on and I am still careful but more tolerant to sugars. Late dumping syndrome can occur around 1 and a half hours after a meal (for me) with sweats and palpitations. Having a dextrose tablet to hand can help alleviate the symptoms and balance out the low sugar that is the result of your body releasing insulin. You might also find lactose free milk helpful (again, less sugar). Additionally, I find that having a hot drink AFTER a small cake, for example, will cause dumping, but not the other way round. Watch those carbs, sugary fruit, and avoid refined sugars. A 'low Gi' (i.e. Slow release carbohydrates) cookbook might help too. Good luck - you've done amazingly well to cope with this major surgery.

Hi yes I agree with everything above. Also don’t drink with your meal give it 30mins before or after might help you. Also after any exercise like gym I have to have a banana . It’s the way your body uses sugar and you have a low. My other triggers are Ice Cream, some soft cheeses ,yogurt , milky drinks and high fat like fatty meats!

Overeating can also cause it. Eat little and often.

I carry Dextrose tablets and 1 or 2 sometimes helps and a banana. If I feel palpertations sweating and feel lightheaded I have a lay down.

Hi, my husband had this operation the same time and suffers dumping, after trying different routines, this is the 1 we find works, after eating don’t get up for 20 mins, then get up, at first sign of dumping eat a dextrose, if gets worse lay down for 30 minutes, if have to go to work just eat half a banana and can then get up straight pt away, and only have proper dinner/lunch when he knows he can sit around after

I agree with everything Quicksilver says. Dumping is generally caused by food passing too quickly from the stomach to the intestines. This can be caused by overeating, eating the wrong things, or having a hot drink immediately after eating. However, it can also be caused by problems with the pyloric valve at the exit from the stomach. If none of the suggestions above work, you should consider getting this checked out by your medical team.

Sugar and carbs that turn to sugar causes severe dumping in a lot of people I know because I am one of those people Stick to protein and fat mainly and see how you go basically a ketodiet It will make it harder to gain weight but it's better than being sick

Hi I still get dumping 8 years on, normally when I eat too much. Or I don’t sit down after I have eaten. I find when I get tierd or out of a routine it’s worse. I use Arcobase an old diabetic drug which slows the absorption of carbs, if I’m eating a meal like pasta or Chinese fresh bread, roast dinner most meals out I take them before the meal and it helps to stop dumping. I always have dextrose with me ( jelly babies, dolly mixtures, lemon sherberts ) etc. Stake care using coke or lucozade as they have reduced the sugar content due to the sugar tax and it doesn’t work as well a friend discovered after using lucozade for years

It’s an ocupational hazard with this op and we are all different but you learn what works for you and what are definite triggers I find hot chocolate, bananas and baked apples, are the worst for me.

Yo. 9 years on and I only found out this year it’s known as the IL procedure.

I don’t know any of the medical terms, dumping? I went into this procedure very, very blinkered and came back out, the reason was my late wife being very clever. I just switched off, everything going over my head but she guided me through.

Reading these posts though I feel so fortunate, I didn’t suffer much pain and very soon after I built up to roast dinners and 3-4 pints of cider. Can the stomach be stretched?

I don’t take omeprazole now, mainly because I forgot a lot of the time. My only gripe is that they left a filter in my deep vein resulting to me being on WarfarinAnticoagulant.

My antedot to dumping is a cold diet coke and an apple, I believe dumping is caused by repid transit of sugar or carbahidrates in our tiny stomochs to the intestine resulting in an overdose of insulin leading to low sugar, eat very little and often

Hi I am afraid that dumping is a very complex subject and although I had fantastic treatment in hospital when i had my surgery 5 years ago I was not warned about dumping and was totally unprepared for it. Everyone appears to be different and with my personal diet there is no clear pattern. One day I could have coffee and a cake and be fine and the next day I will have problems. A food diary can be very useful and with me I find breakfast can be a problem time. Small meals are clearly good for people like us and sadly I really don't enjoy going to cafes or restaurants any more. I always find pasta in any shape of form to be a safe option. I eat a lot of good quality cheese particularly in the evenings and although I would concur it is not very healthy I enjoy a bacon sandwich and again good quality italian or spanish ham from M&S. Lentils and mushrooms are also a good 'go to' option for me. Sorry I cannot offer more advise other than trial and error.